"The Quiet Little Woman"

The Quiet Little Woman by Louisa May Alcott

How can you go wrong with the gentle writing of Louisa May Alcott?

You can't, and as I anticipated, this little book was a joy to read. It contains three touching stories about young girls at Christmastime: The Quiet Little Woman, Tilley's Christmas and Rosa's Tale. The writing is bright and wholesome, like a breath of fresh air that makes you wish it wouldn't end just yet. I'd love to read this book aloud to a child.

The stories are sweet, typical Alcott. The first is about a girl in an orphanage who longs for a family of her own, the second about a girl in a poor family who make the best of what they have for Christmas, and the third is a story based on the legend of the talking animals on Christmas Eve.

The copy I have (borrowed from the library) has a red hard cover with a pretty jacket framed in gold. There are beautiful illustrations in red ink on the title pages of each story, every chapter begins with a red letter and the page numbers, located mid-way down the outside edge of each page, are trimmed in red. It's both beautiful to look at and to read, and would make a great gift for any reader, child or adult.